When She Was Bad...

“Cole Buchanan.” He hitched a thumb toward Pepper’s aunt. “So how do you know Irene?”

“Met her on the plane to Eden.” He lowered his voice. “And if I can be frank, it’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in years. God, I love a take-charge woman.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ve got some pretty stiff competition.”

Happy sighed. “Yeah, I got that. She couldn’t stop talking about him on the way over. But I think I’ll hang around, in case things don’t work out the way Irene’s planned.”

“She told you about her plan?”

Happy grinned. “About stealing the Monet to prove a point to her boyfriend?”

“That would be it,” Cole said.

“She’s a pip, isn’t she?”

Cole couldn’t have agreed more. “She’s got the Monet then?”

“No. I expect the young man who drugged her and put her on the plane to Eden Island nipped it. But she’s confident it’s here on the island somewhere.”

Cole glanced over at the two women now deep in conversation. No doubt Irene was filling Pepper in on her adventure. For a few minutes Happy and he worked in silence, steering the boat away from the rocks and helping the sea guide it onto the beach. It took only a matter of seconds to drag it away from the reach of the tide. Once the raft was secured, Happy glanced over to where the two women were standing by the rocks in the moonlight, locked in a tight embrace. “Is that her daughter?”

“Pepper is Irene’s niece,” Cole said, turning to him. “They’ll need a moment to catch up and you look like a man who could use a drink. I hope you like champagne.”

Happy’s smile grew even brighter. “You just became my new best friend.”

Cole poured him a glass. “Can Irene describe the man who drugged her?”

For the first time, Cole saw the laughter completely drain from Happy’s eyes.

“I can,” he said. “He spoke with a French accent and he was sporting a goatee and a beret. If he’s here on the island, I’d like to have a few moments with him.”

“He’s here,” Cole assured him. “And you’ll have to wait in line.”

FOR A LONG MOMENT, Pepper held on hard to her aunt as feelings swamped her. Delight and relief that her aunt was finally safely on the island, regret because she knew that her time with Cole was almost over. “Don’t worry about the Monet. I was so worried about you—ever since you missed the plane. And I know you’re wondering why I’m here.”

Stepping back, Irene glanced at the remains of the beach picnic. “Not really. It looks like you were having a little tryst with Cole Buchanan.” She shot a glance toward Cole who was pouring champagne into a glass for Happy. “I approve. He’s a definite step up from Evan Atwell. Suits you, too.”

“No, I mean you’ve got to be wondering why I’m here on the island.”

“You followed me,” Irene said.

Pepper stared at her. “My disguise didn’t fool you?”

“It was damn good, but I figured you’d follow me, and the shoes were a big clue.”

Pepper drew in a deep breath. “It’s not that I don’t trust what you said you were going to do. I know that you intended to return the painting. But I didn’t know that much about Butch. And I figured since you’re in love with him, you might not be seeing him in an objective light.”

Irene waved a hand. “I would have done the same. But Butch will not accept a stolen painting. He’s legit.”

“I think you’re right. The people who work here like him, and he seems to be a very nice man.”

Irene grabbed her hands. “You’ve met him? How is he? What did he say? You didn’t tell him I was coming to the island?”

Pepper shook her head. “He already knew. You were on the guest list. When I checked into your cabin, he thought that I was you. And when he came barging through the door, he seemed upset that Cole and I were…well, sharing the cabin.”

Irene’s eyes widened. “He barged through the door?”

“I had the distinct impression that Butch Castellano was jealous of me,” Cole said as he and Happy joined them.

Irene shot Cole a narrow-eyed glance. “Jealous?”

“He thought you had come to the island with another man,” Pepper said. “Cole nearly had to dodge a bullet.”

“Really,” Irene said and she looked pleased.

“The important thing is that you’re here now,” Pepper said.

“But I don’t have the Monet,” Irene pointed out.

“Cole says the Frenchman who drugged you and nipped the Monet is here on the island,” Happy said.

“His name is Jean Claude Rambeau,” Pepper added.

“You know him?” Irene asked.

Pepper shrugged “We have some information about him. He’s here with Evan Atwell. They’re a couple, and they’re sharing the penthouse suite. So far Butch has had two meetings with them. I’ll bet my PI license that they’re negotiating the price of that Monet.”

“Time out,” Irene said. “This Rambeau stole the painting from me and Butch is having meetings with him?”

“In a nutshell,” Pepper said.

“Shit,” Irene muttered.

Cole pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll get in touch with Butch, and we’ll straighten this whole thing out.”

“No!” Irene shouted.

“Wait,” Pepper said in an only slightly calmer voice.

Cole closed his cell. “You don’t think he’ll cooperate?”

“Of course, he will,” Irene said. “He’ll be only to happy to save my ass. That’s why he made the big sacrifice and swore to stay out of my life forty years ago. If you tell him about this, Butch Castellano will ride to the rescue again and he’ll continue to think of me as poor little Renie who needs to be protected and saved from ruining her life. I stole the Monet to erase that image forever from his mind. Unless I get it back, how can I convince him that I’m bad enough for him?”

Cole stared at her. “You want to steal it again?”

“Of course she does,” Pepper said. “If she doesn’t steal back the Monet, she hasn’t made her point.”

Cole glanced at Happy. “Are you following this?’

Happy laughed. “Nope.” He patted Cole’s arm. “But I wouldn’t argue. It’s female logic. I’ve raised three daughters, and I’ve never gotten the hang of it, but I’ve learned not to argue.”

“After all,” Pepper continued, “if you steal something back, it isn’t really stealing, is it?”

“See?” Happy said. “There’s really no rebuttal for an argument like that.”

Cole couldn’t have agreed more.

As the two women began to talk to each other again, Happy pitched his voice low so that only Cole could hear. “The other thing you ought to watch out for is that the older one is very forceful—though I would say it’s her most endearing quality.”

“Yeah, well when the younger one gets an idea in her head, she’s no slouch either.” Then he raised his voice. “Ladies, I think we should continue this discussion in more comfortable surroundings.”

THE MORE COMFORTABLE surroundings turned out to be the two-bedroom suite that Cole had booked when he’d arrived on the island on Thursday. They’d decided against using Irene’s bungalow because Butch would probably be keeping his eye on it, not to mention the hole in the ceiling that needed repairing.

Pepper glanced up from the diagram that Irene was drawing and took the room in for the first time. It boasted a spacious living room and even a small kitchen where she was surprised to see Cole and Happy cooking something.

“I’ll come down to their balcony from the roof, jimmy the lock on the door and go into the suite,” Irene said. “When I’m finished, I’ll simply walk out the front door of the suite and take the elevator down three floors.”

“Something tells me it’s not going to be that easy,” Pepper said.

Irene met her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve got one of your feelings again.”

Pepper nodded, and Irene patted her hand. “Relax. I’ve got a real natural feel for locks. One of our Rossi ancestors was not as sweet and pure as my parents would have had me believe. I’m not going to have any problem getting into the suite.”

“I’m not worried about your getting in,” Pepper said. “It’s getting out that has me worried.”

Irene shrugged. “Frenchy and Evan will be busy negotiating with Butch.

“What if the meeting ends early? What if the Monet isn’t just hanging on the wall waiting for you? What if they’ve put it in a safe?”

Irene rubbed her hands together. “I’m pretty good at opening safes too, especially the cheap kind that hotels provide.”